“Unlike the G7 and the G20, the EPC does not release a written communiqué”
However, unlike the G7 and the G20, the EPC does not release a written communiqué, a document which marks the pledges that states have agreed to pursue together. While agreements may be made between members at the summits, these are not binding resolutions.
Which countries are participating?
47 heads of state and government are invited to take part in the fourth EPC at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, UK. Only 44 states were invited for the first meeting in 2022 but San Marino, Andorra, and Monaco were added before the second summit.
This includes all countries in Europe stretching from Iceland to Azerbaijan with the exception of Russia and Belarus – which have been excluded on account of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Belarus has supported.
Therefore, the members include: all 27 EU member states; those which are not member states but closely aligned to the EU (e.g. Switzerland); countries which are hoping to accede (e.g. Ukraine); and countries which have little interest in joining the EU (e.g. Armenia, or indeed the UK).
The presidents of the European Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament also participate in discussions.
“The summit in the UK falls into the same week as the first session of the newly elected European Parliament”
The summit in the UK falls into the same week as the first session of the newly elected European Parliament and is likely to coincide with a vote to confirm the Commission President. Ursula von der Leyen, as the European Council’s nominee for the post, may therefore be unable to attend the EPC this time round.
Who came up with the idea?
The EPC is seen as the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron.
He first proposed the idea on Europe Day in 2022, soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, suggesting that Europe needed another way to structure itself outside of the EU.
He argues that the EU’s high level of integration and wider commitments for members does not make it best suited to the more immediate issues Europe is facing, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and energy security, which require quicker and more coordinated measures across the whole continent.
With its wider membership and more flexible and informal structure, Macron has suggested that the EPC can provide a new space for political co-operation to deal with these contemporary challenges.
Some see the EPC as building on the idea of former French President Francois Mitterrand for a ‘European Confederation’.
Mitterrand’s proposal came soon after the disintegration of the USSR, and was an attempt to strengthen links between Western Europe and the former communist states of Eastern Europe without fully integrating them into other bodies such as the European Economic Community (EEC).
However, plans for the European Confederation failed as it dissolved after just 18 months. The Jacques Delors Institute argues that its failure rested on central European states seeing it as a ‘less attractive alternative to what these countries actually wanted, namely joining the Community process.’
Macron seemed to draw a distinction with his idea for an EPC, which he says will not “prejudge” membership of the EU but rather offers closer integration for countries which are realistically “years” or “decades” away from EU membership.
Some countries which have ambitions to accede to the EU but are still waiting for membership (e.g. Western Balkan states and Ukraine), have expressed concern that the EU may use the EPC as a ‘holding space’ which serves as substitute for membership, and have made clear that they would reject this.
However, Macron has sought to assuage these concerns and it was emphasised in the inaugural EPC meeting that it would not serve as an alternative to enlargement.
What purpose does the EPC serve?
The membership of countries like the UK, Switzerland and Azerbaijan shows that the EPC is not only for countries with an active interest in joining the EU. Indeed, it is primarily designed as a forum for European leaders to create a coordinated response to issues faced by the whole continent such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and energy security.
It is thought that this body may be more effective at dealing with Europe’s shared issues due to the exclusion of Russia, whose membership burdens organisations such as the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
For many observers the value of the EPC lies in its flexibility which allows for informal discussions on the sidelines of the summit. Its more flexible structure and emphasis on bilateral discussions can provide greater freedom for leaders to focus on their immediate concerns in comparison to other bodies with more official procedures like the Council of Europe.
There has been some concern that the EPC could cut across other international institutions such as NATO, the EU, the G7/G20 or the OECD.
Indeed, in a report published soon after the first EPC summit, the Council of Europe, which is not an EU body, expressed concern about the EPC’s ‘undefined’ remit. According to the report, this could cause the EPC to overlap with the Council of Europe’s mandate of safeguarding human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
However, leaders have tried to make clear that the EPC will not undermine existing bodies and processes.
The first EPC summit suggested that this forum will not be an institution focusing on human rights but, rather, will concentrate on more immediate issues facing Europe such as energy and migration; therefore, avoiding overlap with the Council of Europe.
Furthermore, in the conclusion of the meeting on the EPC in the European Council (EU heads of state), it was emphasised that the EPC will not replace existing EU policies and instruments and will fully respect the EU’s decision-making autonomy.
While it has also made clear that it will not overlap with NATO, as the EPC will not attempt to create any mutual defence clauses or collective security guarantees.
In autumn 2023, a group of 12 Franco-German think tankers published a report on how to reform the EU to get it ready for enlargement and how to restructure its relations with those countries that are unable or unwilling to join. The report argued that the EPC could represent a prospective ‘second outer tier’ of states focused on geopolitical convergence and not bound into the EU integration project, its legal order, or the single market.
Overall, the EPC’s structure and purpose are still evolving which is why the UK Conservative government intended to encourage broader discussions about the forum’s purpose in Blenheim.
What is the UK’s position on the EPC?
Despite initial scepticism, Liz Truss, while still Prime Minister, agreed for the UK to join the EPC after receiving assurances that the focus of the forum would be on European co-operation rather than forming new structures. Moreover, had the UK opted to join Russia and Belarus as the only European states not to attend, it would have risked looking extremely politically marginalised.
The fact that Truss (unsuccessfully) asked for the name of the EPC to be changed as it was too reminiscent of the European Economic Community (EEC); for the first meeting to focus on immigration; and for London to host the second meeting, shows the close attention which the UK has paid to the symbolism of the group. The UK’s participation in the EPC has been embraced by Rishi Sunak, who has referred to the UK’s membership as a part of ‘a new phase of UK-EU co-operation’. And the Integrated Review Refresh from March 2023 describes the EPC as a ‘notable and welcome new forum for continent-wide cooperation’.
“The EPC offers the UK an avenue to engage with EU partners, and others, without being bound by new institutional obligations”
Ultimately, the EPC offers the UK an avenue to engage with EU partners, and others, without being bound by new institutional obligations. There is also a relatively large degree of flexibility for the UK to pick and choose which issues it engages on, and with whom. Under Sunak, the UK wanted to use the EPC primarily ‘to drive regional and global solutions to the shared challenge of illegal migration and dangerous small boats crossing[s]’.
How has the UK used the EPC so far?
The EPC has already provided a setting for the UK to reach agreements with some EU member states to increase co-operation and rebuild ties.
For example, following the first summit, the UK agreed to restart co-operation with the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC), a group which includes eight EU member states and Norway and aims to support the development of offshore renewable energy.
Truss also committed to joining the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) – an EU structure for co-operation on defence capability.
And the UK has also re-joined the Calais group, where discussions on migrant crossings across the Channel are held between the home secretaries/interior ministers of France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.
“The first EPC summit provided an opportunity for the UK and France to rebuild their relationship”
The first EPC summit also provided an opportunity for the UK and France to rebuild their relationship, which had been fractured by Brexit, disputes over migrants crossing the Channel, fishing rights, and personal animosities. Whereas Truss had previously said that the ‘jury was out’ with regard to whether Macron was a ‘friend or foe’, she called him a ‘friend’ ahead of the Prague Summit.
The first EPC meeting was swiftly followed by the first UK-France bilateral summit in five years, held on 10 March 2023.
At the second summit, the UK, alongside Poland, chaired a roundtable discussion on security. Whilst the official agenda focussed on security, energy resilience, and connectivity, the UK’s press release highlighted Sunak’s intention to ‘put tackling illegal migration firmly on the [EPC’s] agenda’. The UK also used the summit to announce a new partnership with Bulgaria on combatting organised crime as well as the start of negotiations on a new returns agreement with Moldova.
Finally, at the third summit, the UK and Italy spearheaded a push for informal talks on migration, resulting in a pledge to combat people smuggling.
What was the focus at the first three summits?
1st EPC Summit (6 October 2022)
2nd EPC Summit (1 June 2023)
3rd EPC Summit (5 October 2023)
4th EPC Summit (18 July 2024)
Place
Prague, Czechia
Chişinău, Moldova
Granada, Spain
Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Attendees
Invited: 44 European heads of state and government + EU representation
Invited: 47 European heads of state and government (San Marino, Andorra, and Monaca were invited for the first time) + EU representation
Invited: 47 European heads of state and government + EU representation
Invited: 47 European heads of state and government + EU representation
No-shows
Denmark
San Marino and Turkey
Azerbaijan and Turkey
TBC
Agenda
Discussions focused on:
· peace and security
· energy, climate, and the economy
Discussions focused on:
· peace and security
· energy resilience and climate action
· connectivity
Discussions focused on:
· Digitalisation
· energy, environment, and green transition
· multilateralism and geostrategy
Discussions are expected to focus on:
· Ukraine
· irregular migration
Significant side meetings and statements
· Quadrilateral meeting with Armenia, Azerbaijan, France and the EU resulted in decision to deploy an EU civilian mission on the Armenian side of the international border with Azerbaijan (European Council statement)
· First leaders’ level meeting between Turkey and Armenia since the appointment of diplomatic envoys for the normalisation process between the two countries in 2021.
· Swedish Prime Minister discusses her country’s bid for NATO membership with the Turkish President.
· UK and France release a joint statement, including commitments to advance cooperation on energy and illegal migration, and to hold a France-UK summit in 2023.
· UK and Dutch leaders discuss migration and energy cooperation.
· Albania, Ireland, and Serbia highlighted the need for more youth cooperation.
· UK signals interest in renewing ties with the North Seas Energy Cooperation (Belgium, Denmark, EU, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) and signs MoU later that year.
· EU announces support package for Moldova, including economic measures and lower roaming fees.
· Armenia and Azerbaijan’s leaders continue discussions (with the EU, France, and Germany).
· Ukraine and the EU Commission President issue a joint statement, condemning the deportations of Ukrainian children by Russia.
· UK announces intention to negotiate a returns agreement with Moldova as well as a new partnership with Bulgaria on combatting organised crime.
· Meeting of Kosovar and Serbian leaders (with the EU, France, and Germany) to address tensions in the north of Kosovo following municipal elections.
· EU-Armenia joint statement, condemning the military operation by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, and pledging EU financial support to Armenia.
· UK and Italy convened a meeting with France, Netherlands, Albania, and the EU Commission and agreed an eight-point plan to tackle irregular migration.
· France announces intention to expand the Discover EU Programme (travel pass for 18-year-olds) to all EPC members.
· France proposes expanding EU cyber reserve mechanisms to all EPC members.
· Kosovo’s President refused to meet the Serbian President.
TBC
Joint press conference
Yes (jointly held by the French President, the Czech Prime Minister and the President of Moldova)
Yes (jointly held by the Czech Prime Minister, the President of Moldova, and the Spanish Prime Minister)
No (cancelled)
TBC
Has the EPC produced any concrete measures?
Whilst there have been no joint statements, the informal structure of the EPC has served as a useful setting for leaders to hold talks in an attempt to ease tensions between their countries.
“The informal structure of the EPC has served as a useful setting for leaders to hold talks”
In addition to discussions between Truss and Macron, a meeting was held in Prague between the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in an attempt to find a resolution to the border crisis between the countries. Discussions were facilitated by the French President and the President of the European Council and led to a joint statement confirming their respective commitment to the UN Charter, in which each recognises the other’s ‘territorial integrity and sovereignty’. As agreed in the discussions, the EU has deployed a monitoring mission in Armenia to watch over the border and de-escalate tensions between the countries.
Whilst efforts for conflict resolution continued at the second summit, Azerbaijan’s military offensive into Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 led to a break-down in talks, and the President of Azerbaijan stayed away from the third summit in Granada.
Similarly, discussions to de-escalate tensions between Serbia and Kosovo took place in Moldova (with the participation of France, Germany, and the EU). However, efforts failed to convene the two sides in Granada.
What can we expect from the summit in the UK?
For the newly-elected Keir Starmer, the EPC provides an early opportunity to meet fellow leaders and to send a clear signal about the UK’s place in the world and in Europe. Starmer has made clear his government wants ‘an improved and ambitious relationship with our European partners’. The EPC will be the first opportunity to set the tone for what many in the UK and in the EU hope will be a reset after years of strained UK-EU relations.
The EPC, as an informal forum without structures or concrete deliverables, lends itself to this kind of symbolism. It is not difficult to imagine a family photo of European leaders with Starmer at its centre evoking headlines of the return of the prodigal son.
“Despite Starmer taking over from Sunak as host, the agenda for the gathering looks unlikely to change”
Despite Starmer taking over from Sunak as host, the agenda for the gathering looks unlikely to change. The war in Ukraine continues to loom large over Europe. And Starmer says he wants to keep ‘small boats’ and how ‘to take down the gangs’ on the agenda.
Whilst some, like Italy’s Prime Minister Meloni, will be supportive of keeping migration top of the agenda, others may be less enthusiastic about Starmer’s decision. Attempts by Sunak to place migration on the agenda of the previous summit had caused a row with the host country, Spain.
The Conservative government had also planned to leave some space to partners to suggest issues which they ‘may want to put on the agenda’. It also wanted to strengthen a sense of ownership among EPC members and encourage broader discussions about the forum’s purpose. With the summit taking place only two weeks after the UK general election, Starmer is unlikely to substantially deviate from these plans.
By Jannike Wachowiak, researcher, UK in a Changing Europe, and Peter Jurkovic.
Source link : https://ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/the-european-political-community/
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Publish date : 2024-07-08 07:00:00
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